The listing or discussion of an apparently prior-published document in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge.
Obesity is a medical condition that is increasingly prevalent in the global population. It occurs when a person having body fat that has accumulated in excess possibly causes an adverse effect on health. The accumulated fat in the body of an obese person plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart diseases, and various types of cardiovascular-related metabolic syndrome. Therefore, body weight management has become a key element of modern healthcare.
Obesity and excess body weight can result from a high level of energy intake that exceeds the body's energy expenditure, which may be caused by overeating, inactive or sedative lifestyle, genetics or family history, medical conditions and/or other factors. In order to combat or prevent obesity or excess body weight, lifestyle changes could be one of the main solutions. However, as lifestyle changes may be difficult to implement and physical activity in the developed world continues to decline, control of calorie intake has become a more accommodating and effective way to prevent the further increase of the prevalence of worldwide obesity and its associated health problems.
Reduction of total caloric intake from diet could be achieved via diet planning, which includes reduction of amount of diet intake or ingestion of drugs or supplements such as caloric blocker, meal replacement, appetite reducer and others. However, the effectiveness of currently available drugs and supplements for promoting weight control or weight loss is very variable, particularly if they are not used in conjunction with a calorie-restricted diet and exercise regimen.
There have been a few existing technologies described in the prior art related to compositions for promoting or inducing the sensation of satiety as a means of suppressing of appetite. In this regard, it is known in the art that the viscosity, swelling and gel forming physiochemical properties of dietary fibre could be associated with the prolonged gastric emptying, increased gastric distention and satiety, and attenuated postpranial glycaemia.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,410,660 describes pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, dietetic and nutritional compositions based on vegetable fibres. The compositions comprise glucomannan, Opuntia ficus indica and microcrystalline cellulose, and are said to present a high gastrointestinal swelling index that induces an immediate feeling of fullness, release of cholecystokinins and slowing of gastric voiding which prolongs the feeling of fullness. Associating the complex of three vegetable fibres with a mixture of freeze-dried mucilages (1-10% by weight of composition) is also said to increase its gastrointestinal swelling properties. However, the swelling index of the composition of U.S. Pat. No. 7,410,660 was shown to be synergistically increased under neutral conditions, not under the conditions that resemble those found at the intended site of action, namely the stomach.
Takigami et al (2009) (Handbook of Hydrocolloids, pp 889-901, Woodhead Publishing Ltd) describes how glucomannan exhibits a synergistic interaction with either of xanthan gum or kappa-carrageenan. Due to the synergism arising from two fibres, the viscosity and gel strength of the mixture of glucomannan and either of kappa-carrageenan or xanthan gum are several times higher than the inherent viscosity and gel strength of the individual fibres. The synergism is said to be dependent on several factors including the ratio of the mixture, ionic strength and pH of the solution. Maximum viscosity was observed at a ratio of 80:20 for both a mixture of glucomannan and kappa-carrageenan or xanthan gum, whereas the maximum gel strength occurred at a ratio of 40:60 for both mixtures. However, there is no mention of a composition containing potassium salts. It is shown in Takigami, 2009 that the viscosity of glucomannan is decreased with decreasing of pH value. However, there is no disclosure in this prior art on any combination of the dietary fibres for use in appetite reducing or weight management that provides good swelling, viscosity and gelling effects.
In view of the existing compositions for appetite reducing or satiety inducing available in the field which do not provide the desired physiochemical properties that increase their effectiveness as an appetite reducer or satiety inducer to control body weight and/or treating obesity, and related disorders, such as metabolic syndrome, it is therefore an on-going need for the industry to have a unique and optimum composition with innovative combination of ingredients that shows synergistic physiochemical properties, particularly swelling, viscosity and gelling effect to overcome the drawbacks of the existing technologies.